Stand By You
by ThnksFrThMmrs87
Summary: With Ianto's life in peril, Jack will stand with him until the end.
1. Chapter 1

Note From The Author—I honestly haven't a clue where this came from, though that's how it usually works. This will be posted in two or three short parts, and I hope as always that you enjoy them all. Feel free to let me know.

Disclaimer—I don't own the characters of Torchwood

When the hidden stone sank into the Hub Jack didn't even look up from the UNIT correspondence he was reading. But when Gwen's panicked voice screamed his name he was on his feet and out of his office as fast as he could go; and when he made it down the stairs and saw Ianto slumped unconscious against Gwen his heart leaped to his throat. When he reached them he fell to his knees, his eyes surveying cuts and bruises.

"What happened?" he questioned, his voice coming out harsh and worried.

Gwen shook her head. "I don't know. We went to investigate that Rift activity we detected earlier and there was this alien, one that I've never seen before."

"What did it look like?"

She couldn't tear her eyes from the Welshman lying on the floor. Tears had welled up in her eyes even as she tried to fight them back. "I don't…"

Jack took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him instead of Ianto. "Gwen, I need you to focus. Start with what it looked like."

"It had bright yellow skin, and these spikes instead of fingernails. It was sniffing around a group of tourists when we found it, actually sniffing," she said, her eyes wide. "Ianto and I both shot at it and it didn't make a difference."

He tried to keep the worry from his face as he urged her on. "What then?"

"Well it obviously didn't like being shot at, even if we didn't seem to hurt it. It swiped at both of us and took out the com. It knocked me on my back and Ianto got in front of me." Her voice cracked. "One of the alien's nails just raked down his chest and a second later he was on the ground. I couldn't get the com to work and I've left my mobile at home…"

She was panicked, and Jack knew it. He turned briefly from Ianto to pull Gwen into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. "You did well, and you got him back here."

Pulling back, she nodded, watching as his attention returned to the unconscious man at his feet. "What was it Jack? I can see you're worried."

"The name is unpronounceable in the English language, too many vowels." He brushed a hand gently over Ianto's hair. "They're a race of industry, and they enslave others for their purpose."

"But what happened tonight?"

When he looked up at her his eyes were haunted. "Those spikes contain venom that they use to weed out the weak. When it enters the blood stream it puts you through hell, and if you survive the venom running its course they know you're strong enough to take what they dish out as slave masters."

"If you survive?" she whispered.

"If," he said grimly. "But Yan's strong, and he's already lived through hell. He can do it again."

God, she hoped he was right. "What can I do?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing. He'll wake up in a bit, and he's going to have to fight like hell. I don't want you to have to go through this, Gwen."

"And I don't want the two of you to go through it alone." She watched as his fingers stroked softly over the younger man's cheek. "I love him too, Jack," she whispered.

Their eyes met, and for the briefest moment his eyes filled with tears. Then he blinked them away and nodded; his face setting into a mask of resolve. "We're going to get him through this."

Almost as if he could hear them, Ianto's eyes began to flutter. Jack rattled off a list of supplies so fast that Gwen barely had time to blink; and when she hesitated the captain looked up at her with serious eyes.

"Go Gwen!"

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It took time to gather up everything Jack wanted, but Gwen did it as quick as she could. When she got back to the couch, Ianto was awake and aware; aware enough that fear shone from his eyes like torch lights.

"Alright love?" she questioned, bending to kiss his cheek, suppressing a shudder when she felt how feverish he'd gotten.

Ianto nodded, though the movement was small. "Jack's explained it all. At the moment I'm okay, but I can feel the venom starting to work its way in," he told her fearfully.

Jack could hear the worry in his voice, just as he could see it in Gwen's eyes. Putting on his bravest face he smiled. "Yan knows what to expect, and we're here."

"And we'll get you anything you need to get through this," Gwen added.

"I know, I know and I can do this. I can…." He trailed off on a hiss as the first wave of pain hit him, burning white hot. His companions could only watch as his body contorted with the force of the pain and sweat broke out on his brow. "Jesus," he gasped, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Gwen could see that Jack's eyes now matched her own, with terror and worry battling for dominance. Still he managed to push it aside as he knelt by the couch to strip Ianto out of his suit jacket and tie. When the younger man was left only in his pants and undershirt, Jack slipped behind him on the couch, bringing Ianto to rest against his chest. "We're here," he whispered softly, pressing a kiss softly to his temple. "We're here."

It was a welcome respite, and a welcome presence at his back. With a sigh, Ianto let his head fall back against Jack's shoulder as he took a deep breath, feeling it coming back on. "I know you are."

Then he was forced back as the pain ripped him apart again.


	2. Chapter 2

Note From The Author—Thanks so much for all the feedback so far! This story is racing through my head constantly so I'm guessing you won't have to wait too long for any of the chapters. : )

Jack held fast to Ianto as another wave of pain slammed into him. They were an hour in, and it was only getting worse. Ianto was drenched in sweat, and though it was clear that the pain was getting to be almost too much to bear he was trying to stay strong.

Gwen fell to her knees by the couch, her eyes full of tears as she wiped a cloth over his feverish brow. "Please, Ianto, don't hold it in. You can't stop the pain, take the release. Please!"

The younger man only shook his head. "It's the only thing that will…" He trailed off and squeezed his eyes shut as the agonizing pain washed over him again. His body bowed back against Jack's chest with the force of it and he shook his head hard. "God," he sobbed out. "I can't."

"No!" Jack barked out. They barely saw him move, but suddenly Ianto was resting against the couch and Jack was sitting next to him, his face in his hands. "You look at me."

Tired blue eyes fought for focus, but when they found Jack's they held fast. "Jack…"

"Listen to me, Yan. You can do this: you can!" Jack's hand stroked down his sweat slicked cheek. "I told you it wouldn't be easy and you can tell now just how hard it will be, but you're going to make it through this."

"He's right, Ianto," Gwen pushed in. "I know you can make it through this."

It crashed over him again, his hands digging into the couch cushions as he bit back a cry. Breath coming in pants, he looked up at Jack, eyes pleading. "Please Jack."

He shook his head almost violently. "No, Ianto, no!" That stubborn set was back in his face, yet this time there was fear behind it. "This is not your time; I'm not letting you go."

"I don't… I don't know if I can do this," Ianto whispered. "I thought I could, but I'm not strong enough."

"You are." Jack pulled him up into his arms, pressing Ianto's cheek into the crook of his neck. "You've been through too much to let this take you down. I know you're strong enough to beat this." He turned to press his lips to his temple, lowering his voice to a whisper. "This thing between you and me, it's not even close to over. I've been waiting for you, Ianto Jones, and I'm not giving you up."

Gwen watched from the floor, tears still pouring down her face, though this time not tears of fear or sorrow. Just when she wondered at the state of the world and of the heart, there it was. Here was real love, right in front of her, and it put a pleasant ache in her heart. As she watched, Ianto pulled back from the safety of Jack's neck to press a gentle kiss to his lips. For a moment when they pulled apart their eyes caught and held, and a world of words passed between them in complete silence.

Then the moment ended, and Ianto nodded. "I'm going to do this. I will."

"That's what we like to hear," Gwen said with a smile, wiping a cool cloth over his face again. "Now promise me you'll stop bloody well trying to hold all the pain in and we'll be set."

Into managed a small smile. "I'll try my best to…." Once again he bent back with the pain.

"Let go Ianto!" she cried.

And he did, letting out a tortured cry that echoed through the Hub as he rode it out. "God it's so much."

Jack nodded. "But you're making it. You're doing it, Yan." His hands cruised over Ianto's body, checking for any other signs from the venom. "You're drenched. Let's get you into something dry, some pajamas maybe."

"You're just trying to get me naked," he managed between heaving breaths.

Gwen and Jack both gave into the laughter. "Well I won't deny it's a nice side effect of getting you changed," he said with a grin. "Gwen, there's a couple spare sets of Ianto's pajamas in my quarters."

"On it."

As she walked away, Ianto gazed up at Jack. "I promise you I'll do everything to get through this but…" He groaned through an aftershock. "But if I don't, I want to tell you; I know you may not be able to say it back, I understand that. But I love you Jack. I want you to know that."

The captain's eyes filled with tears and he shook his head. "You're wrong, I can say it. I love you too." He loved the way those big blue eyes filled with warmth and surprise when he said it, and he bent to kiss him, long and slow. "I told you I'm not letting you go. You're not getting rid of me."

Then Gwen was back, and they eased away from the moment. Feeling a sort of glow that was completely in opposition to what was going on, Ianto settled back in against the couch as Jack grinned down at him. "Alright, let's see that beautiful body of yours, Mr. Jones."

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With the venom coursing through Ianto's system made rest a rare gift, so when he drifted off Jack and Gwen retreated upstairs to where they could easily watch him. He would need all of the sleep and strength he could get, so the last thing they wanted was to wake him.

Gwen leaned her tired frame against the railing, all the while gazing down at the sleeping Welshman. "What else will happen to him?"

Jack looked at her curiously, trying to put it off. Eventually he sighed. "I should have realized that you've been here long enough to realize there's always more." His eyes drifted down to the man below them as he spoke. "The fever will get worse, try to consume him. He'll start vomiting uncontrollably at some point and his head will start to feel like it's literally going to explode. Then there'll be burns; those will show up out of nowhere, but they'll look and feel as if he's been doused in acid. The pain, I can't say how bad it will get, but it won't just be here and there. Before long it'll be constant, and eventually he'll lose consciousness."

"And then we'll know?"

"Then we'll know. If he wakes up, then he's in the clear, and we have him back. If he doesn't…"

He trailed off, and for a moment Gwen couldn't figure out what had caught his attention. She thought that maybe Ianto had woken, but on examination he was still sleeping, albeit fitfully. Looking back towards the man she had admired and respected since the day they met; she was surprised to see his shoulders shaking. "Jack." Captain Jack Harkness looked up at her with tears spilling over; not something he allowed himself too often. But it wasn't just the tears that got her, it was the look of pure anguish in his eyes, and the way his body shook when she put her arms around him.

Jack gave into the embrace, allowing himself to be comforted for once. In Gwen's arms the shaking seemed to only worsen as he finally let himself feel, finally let himself face the reality that Ianto might not make it through. Though he had faith in his man's strength the logical part of him was screaming at him: "what if?" The breakdown was swift and powerful, and he clung to Gwen as he quaked against her. "They say it's better to have loved and lost," he whispered. "I would know better than anyone how true that is; but I'm not ready to lose him Gwen, not like this, not so young. I want more."

"You'll have more," she told him firmly, pulling back to look at his face. "He will make it through this, you hear me Jack? He will."

There was that steely resolve of hers that so often showed through the compassion. He wanted to believe it, to believe her; but the prospect of losing Ianto was horrendously real. He was poised to speak, to tell her the same thing he had thought, but a cry of pain split the silence, and all thoughts but those for the welfare of his lover fled his mind as he raced back down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

By the fourth hour of his ordeal Ianto was living in constant agony. The pain never let up, and the burns Jack had spoken of had appeared like magic; only making the pain worse that he could possibly imagine. He was trying hard to be strong and fight off the toxins the bastard alien had left in his system, but there were more moments of doubt than assurance. More often than not he felt like he was losing the battle, and even with those who loved him by his side he began to seriously fear that he wouldn't make it.

By the time dawn rolled around Ianto felt for all the world like he was losing the battle. The heaving and vomiting wouldn't let up, despite the fact he hadn't been able to eat anything in ages; and despite the fact that Gwen was constantly dabbing at him with a medicated balm, his burns kept coming back angrier and worse than before.

He was slipping, and they all knew it; Jack most of all. With the exception of the rare trip to bathroom and runs for cool water and new cloths, Jack had been by Ianto's side non-stop. But Captain Jack Harkness didn't need to be a constant presence to see what Ianto was feeling; he could see it in his eyes.

The younger man was exhausted to the point of breaking and it showed in the fear in his eyes and the shaking of his body. Gwen could see the end nearing, and she began to fear that the end may come without Ianto making it through to the other side. So she steadfastly ignored her thoughts, focusing solely on dabbing at the burns on his body with the salve in her hands.

She was working patiently when a trembling hand reached out to grasp weakly a her wrist. "Gwen, stop."

She shook her head fiercely. "No."

"Gwen, look at me." It took her a moment but she did. He was so tired and weak, his skin flushed and sweating with fever and his body wracked with the aftershocks of the pain. "I know you want to keep going, and I appreciate it, but just this one time listen to me."

"I always listen to you."

He tried for a weak smile. Tried and failed. "We'll pretend I believe that." Every breath was a shuddering effort the likes of pulling a lorry across the plaza with your bare hands, but he took them as he watched her. "It's down to me, Gwen, to me and what my body can withstand. Either I live or die now and there's not a bloody thing you and Jack can do. Go home to your husband," he pleaded.

"I can't just leave you here," she told him with tears shining in her eyes.

Jack spoke then. "At least try for some sleep then." He rested his cheek against the top of Ianto's head, breathing him in as he let his eyes flutter closed briefly. Then they opened again, filled with tears. They met Gwen's from over the man they both loved and she knew there was nothing to be done.

"I'll sleep, but I won't leave."

Ianto visibly relaxed back into Jack with a sigh, but the respite was brief as a shaper wave rushed over him, magnifying the world to a pin prick in which the pain was the only thing in existence. When it was over, when it had retreated back to the constant bright ache he'd been living with, he buried his head in Jack's neck.

"Take me to bed."

Jack's eyes squeezed shut, letting a single tear trace down his cheek. Gwen bent to give Ianto a gentle kiss, then moved aside so Jack could take him in his arms. Suddenly the possibilities were rushing at them at the speed of light; and Jack knew that none of them were prepared for what could happen. Still, he would give Ianto anything he wanted, so they went to Jack's quarters.

After he settled Ianto in the bed Jack went to take his place in the single small chair he kept handy, but his Ianto would have none of it. "I want you to lay with me Jack."

He shook his head. "You're hurt, Yan, All those exposed burns, the pain…"

"Jack," he said desperately. "I could die today. If I'm going to, I want you to hold me one last time." There wasn't enough left in him to even lift his body from the bed, so he projected everything he was feeling into his eyes. "Please, Jack."

"Yan…" His body was caught in a struggle, but there was no way he could see what he saw in Ianto's eyes, feel what he felt for the man, and tell him no. And if this was these were the last moments he would get with Ianto Jones then he would savor every last bit. So with a heavy heart and a weeping soul, he stripped from his clothing and lay down next to him. His arms went hesitantly around him, trying to avoid the burns.

But Ianto wasn't having any of it, and he wrapped his own arms firmly around Jack's waist. "You couldn't make it worse than it is now, only better."

"I don't want to lose you," he whispered.

"And I don't want to lose you, but it's out of our hands." He looked up into stunning blue eyes. "So hold on to me, and kiss me one more time."

So he did; he wrapped him up in his arms and kissed him with everything he had in him. When he pulled away Ianto cuddled into his shoulder, still trembling with the agony coursing through him, and Jack kissed the top of his head. He could feel the beat of Yan's heart against his skin, and he prayed to every god he had ever heard of that it would remain.

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He hadn't expected to sleep as he didn't strictly need to, but even the immortal evidently needed their rest from time to time. For a moment it seemed a morning like any other. Then he remembered the night before.

Springing up, he reached for Ianto, only to find him face down in the pillows. His breath hitched in his chest as he reached out to feel for a pulse. For a moment he couldn't feel or hear anything through the erratic beating of his own heart, and then he felt it; and it was the most wonderful thing he had ever felt.

"Gwen!" he yelled. "Gwen, get down here!"

"Why're you screaming?" Ianto murmured, his face never leaving the pillow. "It's early."

Jack gave an almost hysterical laugh and hauled him up to kiss him soundly. "It really isn't, but it doesn't matter because you're alive!"

It took a moment to sink in, then Ianto's eyes went wide and surprised and he looked down at himself. "Oh God I'm alive." He looked down at his chest to find the burns had almost faded away. "I'm alive."

"Yes you are." Jack kissed him again, and then laid a hand on his forehead. "The burns are all but gone, the fever's broken, and you're still here."

Gwen came tearing down as fast as the limited space would let her. "What? What's happened?" Then she turned to see Ianto upright and alert and let out a giddy laugh before launching herself at him. "You made it. Oh thank God." Pulling back she pressed a sloppy kiss to his mouth. "It's so good to see you. How are you feeling?"

Ianto wasn't surprised to find that Jack had shifted to sit behind him again, and he took the invitation willingly, leaning into him. "Tired still, a bit like Dorothy after the hurricane."

"But here," Jack said contentedly.

"And starving to death," he told them with no small amount of enthusiasm.

Gwen giggled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'll go round the shops and get you something."

When she was gone, the two of them settled back into the bed. Both of them were more than willing to spend some time just wrapped in each other. For a while they lay there in silence, then they heard the cog wheel door opening and something occurred to Ianto."

"Can I ask one thing, Jack?"

"Anything."

"When we finally track down this alien, I want to take it down."

That wasn't surprising. "All yours, I swear."

He nodded. "Good. I'll be removing a very valuable appendage."

Jack's booming laugh rang through the Hub and it wasn't long before Ianto's joined. It brought Gwen running yet again. "What on earth is going on?"

Neither man could manage any words, so she could only goggle at them as they clung to each other and fell into hysterics.

Rolling her eyes, Gwen turned back to the ladder. "Men."

Note From The Author—Okay, this is the end of our journey with this story. Maybe the end isn't quite what you were expecting as dramatic as the rest of the story has been, but I needed some serious happy today, and I wanted to make sure that I finished this story before we get Children of Earth here in the Western United States on the 20th. Ianto was always going to live, though. Just so's you know : )


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